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Nature Notes

February has been a month of contrasts: it's mild today - I've even seen the odd honey bee but only a few days ago it was sub-zero temperatures even in the daytime.

Insect life quickly recovers from near-torpidity in a few days. Some hardy dancing Midges appear throughout winter and Ladybirds often come out of hibernation around now. Early snowdrops and coltsfoot provide much-needed sustenance. Hazel and Alder catkins spill golden pollen dust and Hamamelis (Wych Hazels) have very attractive flowers in my own garden. I was delighted to see a large flock of Lapwings near Warmington Hill a few days back. They look for areas like the ditches of sewage farms which do not freeze in winter. Muntjac deer have left tracks near the centre of the village too.

Some villagers may remember the last cold spell in Gaydon. The M40 had not been finished and we were cut off for days; the village shop started running out of food; snow lay in deep drifts. I remember my landrover getting snowed in and I actually had a roe deer feeding at my bird-table! Half the village had its power cut off, which gave it a mediaeval feel and the pub was lit with candles. Those with tractors - I recall Mr Boulter who had a small diary farm on Pimple Lane and John Randall who worked for Mr Ellis - kept the roads passable but many cars were trapped in drifts along Kineton Road. Through all of this, two of my hens kept laying eggs which were frozen when collected! My son Jerry, aged seven, was pulled round on a sledge drawn by Ben our dog. Hares were quite common then and left lots of tracks on Mr Watts' field behind the Forge as they made sorties to nibble garden plants on the edge of the village.

A real winter treat is to see the Snowdrops in Chadshunt churchyard; look out for some that have been transplanted into our own! Bernard Price

Coffee Morning Bring & Buy

Our coffee morning this month is on Saturday 14th at 11am in the Village Hall. Please bring home-made cakes and other produce or small unwanted gifts to sell; or just your purse and come and buy! There will also be a small raffle; and coffee and biscuits, of course.

Come along and exchange the latest Gaydon news!

Any money we make goes to the Fabric Fund to help with repairs to St Giles' Church.

Gaydon Men's Club

The next meeting will be on Thursday 26 March. The speaker will be Mr Bobby Solt who will speak on 'A Far-off Land (1946 -1956)' at 7pm for 7.30pm. A contribution of £6 would be welcome to help with costs. Please contact John Goldsmith by Monday 23 March if you wish to attend.

Friendship Club

Our March meeting will be at 2.30pm on Tuesday 17th at 2.30pm at Corner Cottage, Church Lane. If you would like to join a group of Gaydon residents for a cup of tea once a month, please ring Mary Fox on 641834.

Gaydon Village Hall

The next committee meeting will be held on Monday 9 March at 8pm in the Village Hall.

Pebbles Group

There will be no Pebbles on March 8 because of the combined service at Burton Dasset on this date. There will be Pebbles as usual in the village hall at 10.15am on the 4th Sunday (March 22nd). Any children 4-8 years old are welcome to come and join us. For further details contact Jo Hotchkiss 642248.

Gaydon Village Store

Thanks to all who came and supported the Quiz Night on 28 January at the Malt Shovel. We raised £224 in ticket sales and another £83 on the raffle. So far 56 shares have been sold and this has added greatly to our fundraising efforts. We have purchased a mobile phone for the store which can be used for booking tickets to fundraising events in future and, when we are open, can be used to contact the shop generally. The number is 07794 187352.

As the project progresses, photographs will appear as well as regular updates as we get closer to our opening date. The lease agreement is now with Enterprise Inns for approval and we are being helped out by One Stop who are a subsidiary of Tesco Plc. One Stop are drawing up the internal plans for the shop as well as providing us with free shelving and chiller / freezer units. They will continue to advise us throughout the project and guide us towards our opening day.

Our next fundraising date is 1st April and will be either another Quiz Night or a Race Night at the Malt Shovel. More details will follow soon. If you would like any more details about the project, then you can now email me via the store website or call me on the store phone number above. Thanks to everyone for your support. Claire Hamm

Neighbourhood Watch

Gaydon: a quiet month.

Church Alert

Police have issued the following alert to the area: please be aware an incident of theft has occurred in Kineton at St Peter's Church. Please report any suspicious activities near to or on Church premises.

This alert follows a break-in on the 19th of February between 9am and 4pm when all of the church silver was taken from the safe, possibly using a skeleton key. The offenders were likely to have been carrying a hold-all or some such item in which to carry their tools and this in broad daylight.

Kineton and Lighthorne Heath have experienced a marked increase in break-ins, damage and minor crime. This may not affect Gaydon but it is worth reporting any strange vehicles, or people who appear to be behaving suspiciously.

Simnel Cake for Mothering Sunday 22nd March

375g/12oz sultanas 300g/10oz eggs, weighed in their shells
350g/11oz plain flour 375g/12oz raisins or currants
250g.8oz butter 250g/8oz muscovado sugar
½ level tsp grated nutmeg 30g/1oz ground almonds
½ level tsp baking powder 1 tbsp rum
750g/1½lbs marzipan 2 tbsp Apricot jam
250g/8oz icing sugar Juice of 1 lemon
1 Preheat oven to Gas 3/160°C. Grease and line a 20cm/8" round cake tin.
2 Mix the dried fruit with a few spoonfuls of flour, to coat; mix the ground
almonds, baking powder and nutmeg into the rest of the flour.
3 Cream together the sugar and butter and beat in the eggs one by one.
4 Stir in the flour mixture and the dried fruit. Add the rum.
5 Roll out half the marzipan into a circle slightly smaller than the tin, on a
board sprinkled with ground almonds.
6 Put half the cake mix in the tin, then the circle of paste, then the rest of the
mixture, smoothing the top to make it slightly concave.
7 Bake for 2 hours but check after 1 hr that the cake is not likely to burn;
lower the temperature of the oven if necessary. Take it out of the oven and
test with a skewer: it should be slightly tacky after the 2 hrs. Let the
cake cool slightly.
8 Brush some jam round the top rim of the cake. Make the remaining
marzipan into a long sausage and lay it on top of the jam to form a raised
border round the top of the cake. Shape it using a fork.
9 Cut a circle of brown paper to fit inside the almond ring to protect the top of
the cake and return the cake to the oven for half an hour to brown the marzipan.
10 Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin. Take off the paper
circle and brush the top with jam.
11 Mix the icing sugar with enough lemon juice to make a thick cream. Take
the cooled cake out of the tin and spread a layer of icing in the centre of
the marzipan circle. Decorate with sugared violets and angelica.

West Midlands Ambulance Service

Gaydon has two Community First Responders who are on standby and equipped to attend Category 'A' emergency callouts for possible breathing or heart problems.

First Responders are tasked to get to a cardiac arrest within 8 minutes of call-out and to provide resuscitation and defibrillation when necessary pending arrival of Paramedics.

The Gaydon Team is fortunate to include John Davies who is also an Ambulance First Responder Trainer for the area. Additionally, there are responders in Lighthorne Heath and Lighthorne.

Full training is given and equipment provided. Anyone interested in volunteering, please contact e-mail gaydonnw@tiscali.co.uk.

Myton Hospice

Myton Hospice Leamington Support Group is holding an Easter Tombola in the Royal Priors on 4th/11th April

to raise funds on behalf of the Hospice. Donations of Easter Eggs for the stall would be very welcome and

can be taken to Verney House in Kineton Road (half-way up on the right), telephone 641729. Thank you.

Sue Simmons, Barnfield

The Snowman

We are grateful to James Maycock and Cara Shaw for letting us see the fine snowman they built in St Marks Close in February; the photo was sent in to the magazine by Veronica Cross. It was great fun to have so much snow in Gaydon this year: would any other children like to send us their photos of snowmen or other things they made

from the snow?

Send your picture to the Editor at jr@riscos.org and we'll try to put it in next month's magazine.

Pebbles

Pebbles is an activity group for children aged approx 4-8 years. We meet on the 2nd and 4th Sundays of each month at 10.15 in the village hall.

Sessions include games, stories, craft activities and quizzes, all of which allow us to explore stories from the bible whilst having lots of fun. We finish with a drink and biscuit before moving over to church for the family services.

We'd love some more children to come and join us. If you have children who may be interested, please contact Jo Hotchkiss 642248 or Chris Corner 640523 - or pop along, join in and see what you think!

Warwickshire County Council

Adult and Community Learning Service

Learning opportunities in your local area: what would you like to see?

My name is Sam and I am the Development Worker for this Service. It is my job to go out into rural communities and offer learning opportunities. To enable me to do this effectively, I need to know what the residents of these communities want. To run a course, I need the minimum number of 8 people. We can run a course in your local community centre or village hall. Courses can run from 6-10 weeks for 2 hours a week.

So, do you have an idea for a course? Can you help me find out what people want? Get in touch with me and we can discuss ways to make it happen: 01926 731234 or email sammmoore@warwickshire.gov.uk

Weightwatchers

New Location for Kineton Weightwatchers at Kineton Village Hall: Wednesdays at 7pm.

Wellesbourne: St Peter's Church Centre, Church Street on Thursdays 7pm.

Parish Council News

Flood Defence Plan

We have asked Highways to clear all of our drains of leaves. If you see any blocked drains can you please tell the Clerk. Water has been reported bubbling from the bank at Claylands. Highways have been informed and will investigate.

Highways

Highways have asked us to report any pot-holes. If you come across any in Gaydon can you please tell the Clerk or a Parish Councillor.

St. Marks Close

The aerial, which appears to be hanging from the roof of the flats, has been reported to the Housing Association.

Parking

Please do not park on the verges in the village or anywhere that is blocking the pavement. Apart from being illegal, it can be dangerous, blocking sight lines, it tears up the green verges that we have, and can prevent people with push-chairs or wheel-chairs getting round the village.

Refuse/Recycling System

Our refuse system will be changing again from 6th April. The green bin service will be re-introduced. Kitchen waste will be accepted in the green bin. Grey bins will be collected every other week. If you do not have a green bin then you can order one from the District Council. Full details of the changes will be included with your Council Tax bill at the end of March.

Litter

The litter bin by the bus shelter appears to be broken. We have asked the District Council for a new bin.

Next Meeting

Annual Parish Assembly at 7.30pm on Tuesday, 3rd March at which Councillors give an update on the year. This will be followed by the ordinary Parish Council meeting at 8pm. All residents are welcome.

Coming soon at the Gaydon Inn:

Saturday 7th March
Live Music - Come and listen to a live band - Beyond Recognition;
this will be a good time to get into those party clothes!
Tuesday 17th March
St Patrick's Day - Celebrate the Irish way, come and have a pint of
Guinness and some jolly good old fun.
Sunday 22nd March
Mother's Day - Come and try our fantastic Menu with specials,
Traditional Roast Beef or pre-order our Seafood Platter -
Open all day for Food - Book your Table Now!
Sunday 29th March - Quiz Night Starts at 7.30pm, test your knowledge!
£2.00 per person maximum teams of four, which includes a cheese supper!
It is St David's Day on 1st March so wear your daffodil and visit
The Gaydon Inn, Banbury Road, Gaydon. CV350HA